Broomfield, Colorado, USA, December 16, 2014 — Innovyze, a leading global innovator of business analytics software and technologies for smart wet infrastructure, today introduced InfoMaster Generation V5.0, with new and improved analysis and reporting applications. Where other ERP systems are focused on electronic records management, InfoMaster is built from the ground up to provide superior business analytics and modeling capabilities. A highly advanced and powerful analytical asset management tool, InfoMaster uses state-of-the-art mathematical models to predict when a water or sewer pipe will fail, helping utilities determine the most cost-effective solution for avoiding or correcting the problem. In this way, users can ensure the best distribution of dollars spent on replacement and repair of underground pipes. It marks the first time utilities have been able to manage and control the flow of both data and water for better, faster and more accurate decision making.

Certified by NASSCO PACP, MACP and LACP V6.0, the new version features the direct use of external tables, such as customs CCTV and inspection data, in the rehabilitation planning decision process. A comprehensive dashboard instantly displays vital network statistics including counts of likelihood and consequence of asset failures, and a streamlined work order management system oversees service requests, field inspections, work orders, and resources. The new version also includes complete manhole rehabilitation assessment and planning tools, a detailed valve criticality analysis for improved infrastructure maintenance and customer service levels, and the Linear Extended Yule Process pipe failure model.

Globally, aging water and wastewater infrastructures are rapidly deteriorating and sometimes failing — with potentially dire human, environmental and financial consequences. As this aging process continues, the need for effective asset integrity management becomes more pressing. Maintaining water and sewer assets in fit-for-purpose condition throughout their target lifespans is a primary goal for utilities worldwide, and selecting the right pipes for rehabilitation at the right time is one of the main challenges of asset management. An understanding of when and how pipes will fail, combined with a quantitative grasp of the underlying causal factors likely to induce failure, is essential in formulating a targeted approach to rehabilitation, repair and renewal planning. InfoMaster accurately estimates both the likelihood and consequence of failure for each individual pipe in the network, as well as the amount and time of occurrence of future failures. This critical information facilitates a proactive approach to identifying and managing these high-risk assets to help preserve structural integrity and keep the network operating well into the future. It also eliminates reactive maintenance: waiting for pipe failures to occur before repairing.

InfoMaster comprehensive asset integrity modeling techniques provide reliable pipe failure predictions, even for limited failure records and application to different pipe materials. They include the Linear Extended Yule Process (LEYP), the Cox proportional hazards model, and the advanced time-based probabilistic Weibull and Herz models. They can be effectively used to evaluate a variety of pipe characteristics related to failure, and can consider all pipes in the network, not just those with breaks or other failures. Armed with these powerful models, utilities can now accurately assess the aging processes of water and wastewater network pipes and estimate their lifetimes and structural/functional failure potential and distribution over time. Such capabilities can greatly assist water and wastewater utilities in assessing their pipes’ propensity to fail, identifying critical ones (more prone to failure), prioritizing their inspection and determining rehabilitation requirements. This proactive “fix before break” approach can help utilities extend the useful life of their assets and improve their performance at maximum savings.

The InfoMaster product suite automatically imports InfoWater and InfoSWMM network models and facilitates significantly better planning and control by giving utilities critical insight into all enterprise assets, their conditions, aging and work processes. It also features direct integration with Cityworks (Azteca Systems Inc., Sandy, UT) and Lucity (Overland Park, KS), and can interface with other leading maintenance management software (CMMS). The software enables utilities to use information and analytics in new ways to drive higher productivity and quality while managing costs and increasing operational flexibility.

Available exclusively for the Esri (Redlands, CA) ArcGIS 10.x platform, InfoMaster includes components to run on desktop, web, tablet, and smartphone environments. With its “out-of-the-box” approach to geospatial wet infrastructure asset management — a distinct point of differentiation from traditional enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions — InfoMaster revolutionizes business analytics and optimization (BAO) for water and wastewater utilities. While the typical enterprise software deployment requires a 12- to 18-month implementation cycle,InfoMaster can be deployed in just a day to a few weeks — giving small to medium-sized utilities the first-ever opportunity to optimize network management at very low cost. Because InfoMaster data can be organized by project, a single BAO package can be used by both the utility and its engineering consultants — providing enormous flexibility in managing data for multiple utilities.

Using InfoMaster, a utility can manage its entire underground infrastructure directly from the Esri geodatabase to deliver unmatched engineering productivity and network performance. Because any analysis is only as strong as its underlying data, InfoMaster includes direct support for gravity pipes, force mains, manholes, laterals, pump stations, closed circuit television (CCTV) inspections, manhole inspections, smoke testing, customer incidents and other field activities. Data can be read directly from an enterprise geodatabase; imported or linked to third-party ERP systems; or entered directly through the desktop, Web, or companion smartphone or tablet applications.

(CCTV acceptance inspection of sewers is standard practice in the U.S. and Australia. The PACP, MACP and LACP programs of the US National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) and the Conduit Inspection Reporting Code of Australia WSA05, published by the Australian Water Services Association, provide guidance to utilities in determining the acceptability of sewer defects and features.)

InfoMaster analysis tools are unparalleled in the industry, giving utilities the ability to validate and then “slice and dice” virtually any piece of data. Armed with clean data, they can then use InfoMaster tools and wizards to move nimbly in optimizing operations. Among these tools are applications that can be used to establish a prioritized capital replacement plan based on sound condition assessment; reduce the number of “hotspot” cleaning activities by comparing current cleaning schedules to reported upstream blockage complaints; and overlay smoke testing defects reported in real time via an iPhone with Bing (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) aerial maps to facilitate identification of older houses with cross connections.

“Preserving the physical integrity of water and sewer network assets helps ensure they remain available and reliable longer,” said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., BCEEM, NAE, Hon.D.WRE, Dist.D.NE, F.ASCE, President, COO and Chief Technical Officer for Innovyze. “Improving the likelihood of smoother operations with fewer interruptions — creating more uptime and less downtime — also leads to more profits for the operation. InfoMaster is a must have for meeting these goals. It combines ease of learning and use with a powerful, comprehensive set of graphical presentation tools, time-based probabilistic asset failure analysis models, and asset integrity management capabilities for accurate prediction of structural or functional deterioration of water and wastewater pipes. Faced with challenging budget constraints, these unique advantages help water and wastewater utilities develop sound annual replacement plans for critical pipes that balance investment with expected benefits in a risk-based management context. They also enable users to exceed their operational quality standards by extending both asset service life and overall reliability and performance at maximum cost savings — significantly increasing return on investment.”

Innovyze is a leading global provider of wet infrastructure business analytics software solutions designed to meet the technological needs of water and wastewater utilities, government agencies, and engineering organizations worldwide. Its clients include the majority of the largest UK, Australasia and North American cities, foremost utilities on all five continents, and ENR top-rated design firms. With unparalleled expertise and offices in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, the Innovyze connected portfolio of best-in-class product lines empowers thousands of engineers to competitively plan, manage, design, protect, operate and sustain highly efficient and reliable infrastructure systems, and provides an enduring platform for customer success. For more information, call Innovyze at +1 626-568-6868, or visit www.innovyze.com.

I have noticed based on email questions and postings to the SWMM LIst Sever (a great resource hosted by CHI, Inc.) that many SWMM 5 users do not know about the really outstanding documentation on SWMM 5 posted on the EPA Website https://www.epa.gov/water-research/storm-water-management-model-swmm It consists of two now and in the near future three volumes on Hydrology, Water Quality, LID’s and SuDs and Hydraulics. The documentation is fantastically complete with detailed background on the theory, process parameters and completely worked out examples for all of the processes in SWMM5. It is truly an outstanding aid to modelers and modellers worldwide. It would benefit you to read them (if you have not already downloaded the PDF files). Thanks for reading this post